The Trial of Darth Vader
by F6FHellcat
Summary: Aboard the second Death Star Darth Vader rebelled against his master to save his son, once more becoming Anakin Skywalker and finding redemption. But does the good done in the last moments of his life out weigh the evil done as Vader?
1. Chapter 1

-1

This story is complete fan fiction and should not be taken as official. I do this for sheer fun and do not accept any payment what so ever. All characters belong to LucasFilm Ltd.

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 1

Anakin looked out over the celebration of the rebels and Ewoks. More importantly, he looked at his son. Luke had believed in him, had seen the good still there when it would have been just as easy to condemn him for the man he'd become. No, he'd been a creature, not a man. Palpatine had taught him the ways of the dark side. Then when his body had been almost totally destroyed, he'd had him encased in cybernetic armor to keep his most powerful minion alive. The result had been a creature, more machine than human. But the one shard of light in Darth Vader that had been Anakin Skywalker had prevented him from totally being taken over by the dark side as his master had.

In a moment Leia came over and grabbed Luke, smiling as she steered him back to their friends. The memory of his recent duel with Luke came back to him, and the brightest part of the memory was when he'd realized he had a daughter as well as a son. At that time he'd used the realization to taunt Luke, blinding himself from trying to see who his daughter was. But now he could see clearly what he'd never been able to see before, what Vader had refused to see each time he saw her. Leia looked just like her mother had looked. And there was just a hint of him in her as well.

"Anakin, it's time," Obi-Wan said as he grabbed his tunic.

"Time?" Anakin was puzzled. They had an endless amount of time now to do whatever they chose. Why should his old teacher be so concerned with doing things right away?

"Time, yes. For you time is now," Yoda said, answering the question in Obi-Wan's stead. "Redemption found, you have. At the end of life it was. One with the Force you are. One with the light side you are not. The trial."

"The trial?" Anakin asked as he turned away from the fading scene of the celebration. He caught a final glimpse of Luke as he and Captain Solo laughed at what appeared to be a joke told by one of the rebel pilots. Somehow it seemed like they were good friends with that pilot, and that he may have flown against the brown haired man at one time during the rebellion. "What trial? How does it affect me?

"The trial is put before everyone when they die, old friend," Obi-Wan explained. "It is to decide where your place in the afterlife shall be. We are all a part of the Force, in life and in death. And most of us become one with the light side of the Force. Though only Jedi can truly become one with the Force itself after they die. This is what allows our spirits to return to the world of the living.

"But for the agents of the dark side, their souls are cast into the eternal darkness. There they live in torment, lost and continually suffering. They may take part in the trials of others, and for a time be free of their torment. But they are virtually powerless. Without becoming one with the Force, a Dark Jedi or a Sith is powerless."

"Palpatine could cheat death at one time," Anakin said, a slight shiver running down his now ghostly spine. "But that was only when he was fairly close to his clone bodies. In fact, he had to be in the same building as they were. And the only building I knew of where he could do so was on Byss. He was so positive he'd win at Endor that he never brought any clones with him. So he must surely be a part of the dark side now."

"The trial is not that fast, Anakin. If not for Yoda and myself, you'd already be at your trial."

"I see. So Palpatine is already at his trial then?"

"At his trial, he is not," Yoda replied, a hint of disgust in his voice. "Cheated death again he has. Strong in the dark side. Travels to Byss already his spirit does. Reborn he shall be."

"Then the only good I accomplished when I threw him down that well was to save my son. I had hoped that I could rid the galaxy of his evil once and for all when I saved Luke," Anakin sighed. Then a thought occurred to him, it was almost as if Yoda and Obi-Wan were giving him a great gift by delaying his trial. "Obi-Wan, why did you and Yoda bring me to that village on the forest moon?"

"We requested a chance for you to see Luke and Leia one last time before your trial. You may be lucky enough to see one or both of them at some recess during the trial. But if you loose, if you are banished to the dark side for eternity, you'll never see them again."

"What of the Sith Lords on Korriban, their spirits are not a part of the dark side? I visited the planet many times with Palpatine. I know that they still live."

"Yes, as do we," Obi-Wan told him. "But the ancient Sith Lords are bound to the planet, special rites sealed them there. Any Sith spirit may be sealed in the mortal world. Though normally, they can not affect the mortal world. Out side of teaching others the ways of the Sith, the spirits are mostly harmless. Though occasionally they can do harm.

"Yet even they must come to trial. It is only because of the ancient burial rites that were performed which prevents them from becoming one with the dark side. Yet their great powers are weakened as a result. Though that is of little matter to the spirits on Korriban. As long as they remain on Korriban, their Sith powers are nearly the same in death as they were in life. It is only when they travel abroad, away from the planet of their burial, and particularly the tomb where they are buried, that their power becomes diminished."

"How is it that you know all this?"

"One with the Force for four years Obi-Wan has been. Much he has learned. And much I have learned in hiding. Taught by old friends I have been. Friends long dead. Knew one with the light side I would be they did. Long had I lived. Allowed to teach me they were."

"Of course. Then all hinges on my trial. For me anyway."

"More than you realize, Anakin. If you loose, you will also loose your powers. More importantly, you will become Darth Vader once and for all. All memories of the good in your life will be lost to you. As will the memories of Luke and Leia. Your mother. Qui-Gon. Our friendship. And most importantly, your wife."

"Padme. I'd loose her forever?"

"Yes," Yoda sighed. "Tragic it is. All memories of evil would be. Scared forever you would become. Tormented."

"And eventually the dark side would utterly consume your spirit, destroying you once and for all. Those who become one with the light side will live forever after they die. But those who become one with the dark side are eventually destroyed. Their spirit will cease to exist. As will the memory of who they were. Only the spirits of the Jedi may remember you. But Padme and your mother would no longer remember you."

"Then I must win. I have to. I hurt Padme too much when I became Vader for me to loose. I've got to apologize, let her know that I never truly meant to do it."

"You can only hope that it's decided that the good you did far out weighs the evil of Vader," Obi-Wan told him, his look cut from durasteel.


	2. Chapter 2

-1

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 2

Anakin looked around at what he assumed had to be a courtroom. Actually, he had no idea as to whether he was really in a room or not. He'd always thought there would be no need for buildings of any kind in the afterlife. Buildings were meant as shelter, and he just couldn't imagine why anyone would need shelter after they had died. It just didn't seem like there'd be any weather to worry about.

Yet it seemed as if he'd been wrong in that belief. After all, it did appear that he was in a building. Despite that fact, he still couldn't be sure if what he saw was true or not. Obi-Wan and Yoda had brought him straight to the room from the celebration on Endor. The rather short tunnel they'd passed through was a bright light, and it ended in the courtroom. He'd immediately looked behind him to see if he could catch yet another glimpse of Luke and Leia, only to find a set of doors behind him. He didn't remember seeing them open, or seeing Obi-Wan or Yoda open them. Nor had he felt them use the Force to do so.

"Is this real?"

"Real it is, yes," Yoda said.

"As shocking as it may seem Anakin, even in the afterlife there is a strong need for shelter. Perhaps even more so than in the mortal world," Obi-Wan explained. "We do have weather here, but it is different from what you came to know when you were alive. For one, it is dependent upon the balance of the Force. As long as the Force in the mortal world is balanced, the weather in this world tends to be calm, with storms being an occasional problem. But when the balance shifts, the weather changes. Storms arise. If the light side were to rid the mortal world of the dark side, these storms are wind storms. It's a strong and biting wind, cold, sapping one of their energy. But if the dark side becomes the dominant force in the mortal world, the storms become more violent. Tornadoes. Thunder. Lightning. Even a form of other worldly rain that seems to burn when it touches."

"Even in death we can't escape the problems of life," Anakin sighed as he took in what his old master had told him.

"Those who become one with the light side may live forever in relative comfort. But the weather is a reminder of what life was. And bad weather is an understanding of the torment those banished to the lands of the dark side must suffer. Those who are one with the light side see bad weather for a fairly short span of time when the Force is balanced, and so they have shelter to get out of it. Homes, other buildings. Bad weather, as I have already explained, saps one of their energy, and helps to lead to their utter destruction if they can not get out of it. There is very little shelter offered to those who become one with the dark side, all shelter in those lands is purely natural. And the lands of the dark side almost always suffers from poor weather.

"But shelter in the lands of the light side is what we make it. With the exception of natural shelter of course. We can envision our dream home and it will become real. It's really that simple. Even the lowliest street urchin could live in a grand palace here."

"What about food and stores? If there are shelters here then surely people eat and purchase things they need or would like to have."

"Stores! " Yoda asked, more than a little upset. "Money to spend stores require. Material wealth money is. Greed material wealth leads to. The dark side greed leads to. Why sell things when you can just wish them. Exist they will."

"Yes, Yoda is right. It's just like having a home here. If you wish it, it can be yours. Because of that, there is no need to buy things. And you can wish such things away as well. Our minds in this world are what make wishes possible, therefore anything we may wish to own becomes real. Though people still give gifts.

"As for food, there is no real need for it. Food is, of course, meant to sustain you in life. Here, where you live forever, there is no need of something to sustain one. Yet if you wish to eat, you can do so. No harm in it, in fact it might be something one would find to be a simple pleasure.

"And while restaurants and such places do exist, they don't charge. It's the same as with stores, really. Why bother to charge when one can simply wish it to be. But restaurants exist in this life as a place where chefs can still show off their art. People can enjoy what the chefs prepare, and that brings some pleasure to both those who are dining and to the chefs."

Anakin nodded as he listened to both Obi-Wan and Yoda. There was so much to learn here, and yet all of it could be denied to him. All that he learned of the differences between the lands of the light and dark sides made him hope that he'd not end up banished. Palpatine had taught him that the dark side was stronger. Yet here strength really didn't seem to matter.

"Have either of you ever visited the lands of the dark side?"

"Yoda has been here for a very short time, only a few days really. His trial was quick, and over almost as soon as he arrived. And while there have been trials of those who have had witnesses brought from the lands of the dark side to testify for or against them since he entered this world, he has not been sent to those lands to gather any witnesses yet.

"As for myself, I have been here for four years. And I have been sent several times to those lands to bring forth a witness. Few are chosen to do so, and most of those who are chosen are Jedi, both in life and in death. It is best to choose a Jedi for that task, I think. The lands of the dark side are foreboding, and easy to get lost in. The poor wretches that are sent there beg to escape, and if they are not helped they'll either fall to the ground howling in their despair or will try to attack you and force you to help them escape. If one is not careful, if they become lost, even those who become one with the light side could eventually become destroyed in those lands. But Jedi can still use the Force, it will guide us to where the witness we are searching for is, and will help us find our way out again. And Jedi even are requested to search for those poor souls who become lost over there. No one in their right mind would travel to those lands if they didn't have to."

Anakin shivered as he listened to a description of what the folks sentenced to the lands of the dark side had to face. Now he knew that he had to be allowed to stay.

At the same time he started a further inspection of the courtroom. It was truly magnificent to behold, with a high vaulted ceiling and ornate pillars. The room rivaled the Imperial throne room on Coruscant in size and the majesty of the Royal Palace throne room in Theed on Naboo. And it was already full.

He suspected that most were spectators, come to see if Darth Vader would be sent to the near eternal damnation he no doubt deserved. Others had to be witnesses, probably those who had been blessed with an eternity as a part of the light side. Anakin doubted that witnesses from the dark side would be allowed to spend a fairly long time in the lands of the blessed based on what Obi-Wan had said. Yet he knew that he couldn't be certain.

At the front of courtroom he could see two figures standing behind a pair of tables, smiling as they looked at him. Beyond was another pair of figures, ghostly lightsabers glowing gold and silver. Obviously, they were Jedi charged with the duties of a pair of bailiffs. Yet neither the judge nor the jury appeared to be in. Anakin pointed to the figures behind the tables.

"Who are they?"

"The one on the left is Tristain," Obi-Wan explained. "She will be defending you, as she has defended so many Jedi before you. The one on the right is Gareth. He has prosecuted nearly all Jedi who have fallen to the dark side. And he normally wins. But then, so does Tristain. They were selected for this trial because of who you are. Both will try their very best to see to it that you end up where you belong. I only hope that it is here with us, my friend."

"I hope so to. Who will be judge and jury of this trial?"

Before either Yoda or Obi-Wan could reply the Jedi with the silver blade stepped forward. "All rise and show your respect for our honored judge and jury."

Everyone climbed to their feet, clapping and cheering as the jurors entered the court room. To Anakin's ears it sounded more like some sporting event than a trial. The applause died as the jurors took their seats and was replaced by everyone, with the exception of the bailiffs, bowing ever so slightly from the waist as the judge entered. Obi-Wan, placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder and gently forced him to bow as well. But he couldn't prevent him from peaking out at the dark haired man with the tattooed forehead.

"I don't believe it!" Anakin gasped, whispering as loudly as he dared so as not to show his disrespect.

"Quiet," Yoda whispered, giving him an annoyed glance.

Silver blade motioned for all to sit down. She chuckled ever so slightly as she watched Anakin seat himself on the floor. Yoda prodded him, whispering in his ear that he wasn't suppose to sit yet.

"Friends, we are here today to witness the trial of Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, betrayer of the Jedi, terror to billions."

"My name is Anakin Skywalker," Anakin whispered, a bit annoyed.

Silver blade seemed nonplused by the interruption. "His life began and ended as Anakin Skywalker, a good man. But this hearing shall decide if the evil and destruction caused by the evil that was Darth Vader out weighs the good that was Anakin Skywalker.

"The jury for this hearing shall be composed of Jedi Master Thon, Jori Daragon, the Empress Teta, Jedi Master Nomi Sunrider, Lord of the Beast Riders Oron Kira, Jedi Master Arca Jeth, Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, Freia Kallea, Jedi Knight Torr Snapit, Jedi Knight Pernicar, Jedi Master Bodo Bass, Lorn Pavan, Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant, Jedi Knight Jude Rozess, and Jedi Master Micah Giiett. The judge shall be Jedi Master Ulic Qel-Droma."

"Qel-Droma was Sith warlord, Obi-Wan. Why is he the judge, much less a Jedi Master?" Anakin whispered.

"Master Qel-Droma redeemed himself, much as you had. His only Jedi pupil was Vima Sunrider, daughter of Nomi Sunrider. At the end of the Sith War, Ulic killed his brother, something he did not truly want to do. Cay Qel-Droma was also a Jedi and a friend to Nomi, who had been Ulic's love. Seeing what Ulic had done, and not realizing how upset he was at having killed his brother, Nomi used a Jedi power which would temporarily blind a Jedi or any other Force-user from being able to use the Force. Only Nomi went too far, and permanently blinded him to the Force while he lived.

"Ulic lead the Jedi to Yavin IV, the home of his Sith Lord Exar Kun. The Jedi defeated the Dark Lord and Ulic then became something of a hermit, waiting for the day he'd die and searching to avoid as much contact with others as possible. Yet several years after the end of the Sith War, Vima sought him out. She asked him to teach her the ways of the Jedi. Reluctantly, he did.

"Vima had done so without the permission of her mother. She was still a mere child and Nomi worried about her daughter. She requested the help of the Cathar Jedi Sylvar in finding her daughter and Ulic. Sylvar was herself searching for Ulic. Her mate had turned to the dark side, becoming a follower of Kun's, and she blamed him. Her blame had turned to an anger that was leading her to the dark side, and she sought to kill him.

"Sylvar found Ulic, though it was only after Nomi had done so, and had learned that not only was her daughter safe, but Ulic had taught her to be a Jedi and not a Sith.

"Ulic and Sylvar fought a lightsaber duel, with Ulic strictly remaining on the defensive, never the attack. Sylvar managed to back Ulic up to a cliff, a point where he had to decide whether to attack and protect his life or let her kill him. Ulic chose to let her kill him, reminding her that anger was not the way of the Jedi. Sylvar refused to do so, finally able to let go of her anger thanks to the one man who she would never have expected to help her do so. By training Vima and helping Sylvar let go of her anger and turn away from the dark side, Ulic redeemed himself.

"But the man who had brought him, then Vima, then Sylvar to the planet where he chose to live out his life, took his chance to become historically important. It was a simple shot by a simple man who believed he was ridding the galaxy of a great evil, a shot that cost a redeemed man his life. As Ulic lay dying, he simply faded away, proving to the three Jedi present that he had been a Jedi Master despite having lost his ability to touch the Force.

"Because he fell to the dark side and then returned to the light, finding his redemption, Ulic almost always presides over trials such as this where other Jedi have found redemption after having fallen. It is lucky for you that he is the judge. His own fall and redemption makes him a bit more kind to others like himself. But he can also be harsh in his judgment of others like him. Especially when they fail to show any signs of true remorse."

As Obi-Wan spoke, Ulic contemplated the room before him. Never had he been tapped to act as a judge to a case that was obviously so important to so many. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a trial to decide the ultimate fate of a Jedi who fell from grace and found redemption. Despite the fall and the redemption, this is still a trial of a Jedi. As such, the jury is made up mostly of Jedi.

"Yet it must never be totally up to the Jedi to try their fellow Knights. Ordinary people are also required to try Anakin Skywalker. Their judgment is just as important as that of a Jedi, if not more important. For it is the ordinary people who truly are the most affected by the protection or harm offered or caused by the Jedi. Jedi may be too lenient with their judgment of other Jedi, allowing any evils they commit to pass if they decide that the good they did in their lives far out weighs the evil. Or they may be even harsher, punishing them for the evil they did when others might say that the good they did far out shone the evil. So it is the judgment of the non-Jedi which shall be so crucial to this case.

"Jedi Trugg, if you will please call forth the defendant."

Trugg, the bailiff with the gold bladed lightsaber, stepped forward. "Anakin Skywalker, step forth."

Anakin did as ordered, moving until he stood between the two tables and realized Trugg would not let him move any closer. He knelt down and bowed before Ulic much as he had done so often with Palpatine. Trugg smiled at Anakin's show of respect, though he would have preferred it if he had given a simple bow to the judge instead of the kind of bow Anakin had shown for so many years to his Sith Master when he had been Vader. Trugg motioned for Anakin to rise.

"Who sponsors this man that he may be allowed a chance to live for eternity in the lands of the light side?" Trugg asked.

"Jedi Master Yoda and I, Jedi Master Kenobi, sponsor him," Obi-Wan replied as he and Yoda moved to stand behind Anakin.

"Anakin Skywalker, do you understand why we are here today, as your sponsors have explained it to you?"

"I do."

"And are you prepared to live by the decision of this hearing?"

"As much as I wish not to be banished to the lands of the dark side, I have no right to overturn the justice of this court. I have spent so much of my life committing acts for which I deserve no mercy. Therefore, yes, I shall obey the decision of this hearing."

"Very well. Take your seat and the trial shall begin."


	3. Chapter 3

-1

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 3

Anakin took his seat beside Tristain and quickly offered her his hand. "Anakin Skywalker."

"Tristain Ahtze," she said, accepting his hand.

Anakin noticed for the first time her feline features, although her fur was much shorter and her features much less defined than any feline species he was used to. She had looked so human from the back of the room. Yet the knowledge that she wasn't human somehow seemed so right for such lovely features. "If you'll forgive me for asking..."

"About my race?" Tristain interrupted, a slight purr in her voice. "Elidaelis. And before you can ask, I was never a Jedi in my life. Just a lawyer."

"What about the prosecution there?"

"Gareth Zurkian, a member of the Gachiroptera race. And yes, he was a Jedi in his life. He was known for dealing with Dark Jedi, and defending those they might hurt. Anyone who turned to the dark side came to fear him. Even now, they fear him prosecuting them."

"Have you ever won a case against him?"

"No. But then I've never lost a case to him either. This is the first time we've ever had to face each other."

"Well that's promising, at least." Anakin turned as he felt a hand lightly land on his shoulder from behind. Obi-Wan stood there, leaning in as he got his friend's attention. "Looks like I'm in good hands."

"Indeed you are," Obi-Wan agreed, returning Anakin's smile. "But I'm afraid I must be leaving."

"What? No! Obi-Wan, please, I need you here for support."

"Yoda will be with you, old friend. And I will not be gone long. Luke needs me. He needs to know how urgent the situation is in the Bakura system."

"Luke," Anakin said, his voice barely above a whisper. So, Obi-Wan was still guiding his son, still giving him what help he could. Yes, Luke was more important. His son needed to continue living. "Your right. I need you, but I'll be all right without you here for a while. But Luke needs you now, more than I do. Go, do what you can to help my son. Please, Obi-Wan, please help him so that he stays alive."

"Don't worry, Luke is strong in the Force."

Ulic noticed as Obi-Wan moved away from the man he was sponsoring. "Master Kenobi, is something wrong. Are you no longer sponsoring Jedi Skywalker?"

"Yes Master Qel-Droma, something is wrong, but I am not revoking my sponsorship of Anakin. The mortal world is in terrible danger, and I must tell Anakin's son Luke how urgent it is that he deal with it. He is currently the only Jedi who can defend the mortal world from this danger."

"Yes, of course. The younger Skywalker needs his spirit guide. Hurry to his side." Ulic then returned his attention to Anakin and Tristain. "Counselor Ahtze, I trust you and the defendant are now properly introduced."

"We are Master Qel-Droma. And I am ready for the opening arguments."

"Very well. The prosecution will now present their arguments."

Gareth Zurkian stood up and bowed ever so slightly to Ulic. He then turned towards the jury and bowed a little deeper before moving away from his table. He walked to the jurors box, head down so that his long muzzle touched his chest, arms clasped behind his back, his short reddish-brown fur seeming to glow in the light of the courtroom.

As he moved, the flaps of skin that were attached to his arms and waist flapped ever so slightly. These flaps had once been the main feature of a pair of wings the ancestors of his people had once depended on so much. Now they only offered them a chance to glide short distances or to slow one's fall.

Finally Gareth looked up, his rather large eyes wide open. His ears twitched ever so slightly as he spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have heard so often of the trials the minions of the dark side must go through to decide where they shall reside here in the afterlife. Yet it is always with the Dark Jedi that the most attention is paid. Almost always we end up hearing that these are the greatest trials we'll ever have. But I am here to tell you that this is not the truth. The greatest trials are those of the Dark Lords of the Sith, trials we could never have.

"Not the apprentices who were given the title merely because, for a period of about a couple thousand years, the Sith were forced to obey what they called the rule of two. One Master and one apprentice. And if the apprentice passed their final test the Master declared them a Dark Lord of the Sith. But before the Sith came to obey the rule of two, the title of Dark Lord was only for those who mastered the dark side. Apprentices could never fully master the dark side. They were always learning more. And yet like a Jedi Master, a Dark Lord still had much to learn once they mastered the dark side.

"Yet the true Dark Lords refused us a chance to truly try these dark side masters. Their funeral ceremonies linked their spirits with the mortal world. Even after the rule of two came to exist, we could not touch the dark side masters as we truly needed to. The Sith funeral ceremonies protected them from ever having to face full justice.

"Now the rule of two is no more. Both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader became dark side masters. And both took on numerous students. Palpatine, having been a master for much longer than Darth Vader was the greater of the two, far more powerful. Yet he slips through our grasp because he has figured out a way to cheat death. And because he is cheating death, he does not need the protection offered by the Sith funeral ceremonies.

"But Darth Vader never figured out how to cheat death. And he never received the Sith funeral ceremonies. This has brought him before us today. A Dark Lord, master of the dark side.

"The defense will try painting you a sad story of a man who was merely a pawn in Palpatine's plans. They will try to tell you how his redemption out shines the atrocities he committed. But it is all just a story. Anakin Skywalker willingly joined forces with Palpatine, knowing well what he was doing. He had been trained as a Jedi, and as a Jedi he knew where the dark side would lead. Yet he eagerly accepted it's temptations. And he just as eagerly turned on his fellow Jedi, preying on them and justifying his actions by proclaiming the Jedi had betrayed the Republic.

"When it became known that it was he who was hunting his brethren, Anakin fought a near fatal duel with his Jedi Master, a dule he lost. Left to face death, a death he deserved for the betrayal of his fellow Jedi and the Republic he had once sworn to protect, his life was saved by his dark side master. He became more machine than man, he ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became truly became Darth Vader once and for all. Before it had been a mere name for him, not one he was ready to fully live by. Now it was more than a name, it was a life he chose to embrace.

"He ceased to prey almost strictly on the Jedi, using his power to spread fear into the hearts of all in Palpatine's empire. Darth Vader brutally and savagely carried out the Emperor's will. His very name was enough to make people tremble in fear.

"There is no way a man such as this could truly have been redeemed in such a short span of time. He still clings to his evil, hiding it from us so that he may escape the punishment that he so richly deserves. Yet over the course of this hearing, I shall prove to you just how evil a man he still is."

Gareth bowed once more before returning to his seat, leaving the jury mumuring in his wake. And they were not the only ones murmuring. Ulic silenced the courtroom. "The defense will now present their opening arguments."

Tristain got up with less show than Gareth. She gave a simple bow to both Ulic and the jury before moving to stand before the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen, the prosecutor has told you that this is a case of good vs. evil, emphasizing that fact often by pointing out that we have never truly been able to try a full Sith Lord. Yet it is an attempt to blind you. All trials are trials of good and evil. And full fledged Sith Lords, the type Jedi Zurkian calls the masters of the dark side, are not the only ones who can master the dark side. Any student of the Force can become a master of the light side or the dark side.

"We have seen the trials of numerous dark side masters. But the prosecution wants to blind you to this fact because he is more eager to convict a full-fledged Sith Lord. And he believes that if you are blinded to what this trial is about, to what every trial in this life is about, that he will get his conviction.

"But this is more than a mere trial of good versus evil. It is a trial to decide the fate of a man who at the very end of his life found redemption. Already, my client has admitted to having committed acts for which there can be no mercy. Perhaps he is right. Yet the fact is that despite the evil he committed in life, my client never fully gave himself over to the dark side.

"Those who give themselves over fully to the dark side do not want redemption. They want that which they believe the dark side gives them. They release what good is in them, or at the very least they bury it so deeply that they can never again be redeemed. They believe the dark side allows them to heal wounds that are life threatening. But only if they give themselves over to it fully.

"We have seen many trials of those who have given themselves over fully. And some of them have been able to use the dark side to heal life threatening wounds, just as some on the light side have done the same thing using that side of the Force. But only if they give themselves over fully. And the dark side extracts a grave toll. Those who give themselves over so fully waste away. They may live hundreds of years, but they become the living dead. And even in death, they still look like the living dead.

"My client never gave himself to the dark side so fully that he could not be redeemed. As a result, he could never recover from the wounds he received as the result of a duel with his Jedi Master. Though he tried often to use the dark side to heal his broken body. And what was left of his body never showed the signs of wasting away from countless years of using the dark side. Even in death he does not look like someone who spent the better part of his life as a servant of evil.

"This is a trial of redemption. If we overlook that fact, if we convict a man who found redemption because he served the dark side for so long, then we will be saying that the dark side is stronger. Redemption is perhaps one of the finer points of the light side. But by saying it does not mater, we will be saying that only those we can approve of can find redemption. By saying that, we are saying that redemption is not a finer part of the light side, but a law we can apply to those we want to be a part of society, our society. And by doing that, we will be acting no different from those who use the dark side to rule."

As Tristain returned to her seat, the murmuring once more returned. As did Obi-Wan, who silently moved to the front of the courtroom. He bowed quickly to Ulic before taking his seat. Ulic nodded to him and then motioned for everyone to be silent. "The prosecution shall call it's first witness."


	4. Chapter 4

-1

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 4

"Your Honor, the prosecution calls the Rodian Greedo to the stand." Gareth said.

Trugg and Dia Koban, the silver bladed Jedi bailiff, escorted the Rodian in. It seemed odd that they should treat a witness like they did, until Anakin realized that Greedo had probably been sentenced to the lands of the dark side. If he should decide not to testify, but to make a run for it and hide somewhere in the lands of the light side, his mere presence might have a terrible impact if he were to remain for too long.

Dia placed Greedo in the witness box. "Do you swear that what you say shall be the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"Or what, I'll be held in contempt, sent back to the lands of the dark side?" Greedo said. His native tongue emerged first, but Anakin could hear Rodian somehow translated into Basic. He assumed that what ever it was that made it possible for him to hear Rodian as Basic also made it possible for Greedo to hear Basic as Rodian.

"If you lie, you will be sent to one of the worst places in the lands of the dark side," Dia told him. "There you will find that you do not have as long as you do now before the dark side destroys you. If you had been a dark sider when you were alive, then maybe you would have about ten or eleven years in these places before you finally cease to exist. But because of who you were, you'd probably last about a week, maybe two.

Greedo visibly swallowed. "I swear to tell the truth."

This time the language was Huttese, a language Anakin had known so well from childhood. There was no need for any translation, though it was still provided. And Anakin instantly recognized the Rodian.

"Greedo," Gareth began as soon as Dia moved way from him, "have you and the defendant ever met?"

"Yes. Many years ago when we were both children."

"And did you know him well?"

"Well enough. He was a slave at the time."

"Did he ever show any signs of violence to you? Anything that could have been a suggestion of the dark side?"

"Yes. He attacked me."

"Attacked? In what way? Did he come at you with any weapons. Maybe use some Force power to try and kill you?"

"No, nothing like that. He used his fists. It was purely physical, punches, kicks, that sort of thing."

"Did you fear for your life?"

"Yes. He seemed like a mad man. I didn't know if he just wanted to beat me senseless or if he was going to kill me."

"Thank you Greedo. No more questions for the witness, your honor."

"Counselor Ahtze, your witness."

Tristain got up and moved over toward the witness box, stopping a few feet from it as if she were afraid the Rodian might try to grab and kill her. "Greedo, do you know what caused my client to attack you?"

"I'd have to say that it was probably because I called him a cheat," Greedo sheepishly admitted.

"A cheat? Why would you call him that? What had he done that you felt he had cheated at?"

"He was a pod racer, and the Boonta Eve Classic had just been run. He'd been one of the racers. But everyone knows that slaves aren't as good as normal folks at anything. Especially pod racing. The only way he could have won was if he cheated."

Anakin once more felt the heat of that remark so many years ago. Yet now it didn't hurt him nearly as much as it had then. Now it just seemed like the remark of a pathetic creature who was trying to make himself more important than someone else. He found himself feeling sorry for poor Greedo and wishing he'd not reacted the way he had back then.

"Slaves are less likely to succeed than everyone else, is that it?" Tristain asked.

"Yes."

"Had the defendant ever completed a pod race before that one?"

"Never."

"And why not?"

"Because he was a slave, and not a good pod racer."

"Well his master Watto obviously thought otherwise, or else he wouldn't have kept entering him as the pilot of his pod. And there was the problem of a certain Dug named Sebulba. He was known as a cheater himself, wasn't he?"

"It's only cheating if you get caught. And besides, Sebulba wasn't a slave."

"No, he wasn't. But he saw to it that he'd win no matter what. And he cheated, often at my client's expense. And the expense of others."

"Like I said, it's only cheating if you get caught. Sebulba never got caught."

"Then how did you catch my client?"

"He was a slave, it was the only way he could win."

"I thought you said it was only cheating if you got caught. Aside from his being a slave, you had no proof that he cheated."

"Objection," Gareth said, "the defense obviously has made their point that the witness caused the fight."

"Your honor, the fight had more to do with whether or not my client cheated."

"Over ruled, though I'd suggest you not drag this out much longer counselor."

"Of course. Greedo, lets forget the last question. You've already said my client was a slave."

"That's right."

"Can slaves fall in love?"

"Yes, I suppose they can."

"And did you realize my client had fallen in love?"

"Objection."

"Counselor, this line of questioning had better be important as I am forced to agree with the prosecution."

"It is, your honor."

"Very well, the witness will answer the question."

Greedo nodded. "No, I had not."

"Nor had you realized that he'd won that race for her. And as a result, he was going to loose her. She had been able to get what she needed so that her ship could be fixed and was then going to leave the planet. But you didn't know that, did you?"

"No."

"So a young slave falls in love, perhaps for the first time ever, and almost as soon as they meet, he looses her. She was going to leave the planet and being a slave, he'd probably never see her again. How do you think that made him feel?"

"Objection, speculation on the part of the witness."

"Sustained."

"Let me rephrase the question. If it had been you under those circumstances, how would you have felt?"

"Angry, upset, I suppose."

"Maybe a little resentful at your situation?

"Yes."

"You'd probably just want to lash out at someone or something, correct?"

"Yes."

"So someone claiming you'd just cheated would have set you off?"

"Yes."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"So maybe my client, being upset, angry, and a bit resentful at his situation tried to ignore you at first instead of attacking you right away. And maybe you thought that he hadn't heard you, so you tried again. You pushed him, and he couldn't take it anymore. And that's when he finally attacked you."

"Yes, I suppose that could have been it."

"No more questions for this witness, your honor."

"Would the prosecution like to redirect?"

"No."

"Then you may call your next witness."

Tristain returned to her seat as Greedo was led out, Gareth watching the Rodian leave as he organized his notes in preparation for the next witness. Anakin looked at her quizzically before leaning over and whispering in her ear.

"Why didn't you ask him about his time as a bounty hunter? As Vader I learned he met his fate on Tatooine a little before Yavin by finally pushing the wrong person around. Couldn't that have gone to show that he continued to have a habit of picking on people besides me?"

"You're people told you that Greedo the Younger got killed on Tatooine. He was the witnesses son. Keep that in mind. Now hush, Gareth is about to call his next witness."

Gareth stood and faced the judge. "The prosecution calls the Blood Carver Ke Daiv to the stand."

Anakin expected to see Trugg and Dia escort the Blood Carver in through the same doors as they had brought Greedo through. Instead, he came up from behind Anakin, without an escort.

"Just like when we first meet," Anakin mumbled, to no one in particular.

"But this time he is not here to kill you," Obi-Wan whispered.

Anakin nodded, though his mind was light years away, back when he'd been just twelve years of age. He found himself reliving the events of the pit race and the days that had followed. But even as his mind wandered, he watched as Gareth questioned Ke Daiv.

"Tell us, Ke Daiv, where did you first meet the defendant?"

"On Coruscant, in one of the garbage pits. He was to take part in a pit race."

"As were you, correct?"

"Only for appearance sake. I had been hired to deal with the then young Skywalker."

"And did you? Deal with him, that is."

"I tried, but thanks to his master, and certain circumstances, I failed."

"You were then hired by the future Grand Moff Tarkin, were you not?"

"I was part of a unit given the task of trying to bring him back an example of a very special type of ship."

"And did you succeed?"

"No. I failed to purchase such a ship. Knowing that Skywalker and his master were also attempting to get their hands on one of these ships, and that they were likely to succeed in their attempt, it had been decided that I would take their ship."

"And so you took their ship, correct?"

"Yes. But I needed a pilot. Skywalker was to be the pilot. Then we needed to fuel the ship before we could leave the planet. So we landed where there was suppose to be some fuel, though I do not believe there was any there."

"And what happened next?"

"I had taken Skywalker against his will, so I guess he decided he would try to escape. We ended up fighting, but it was nothing like I had ever seen before. It was as if he had become both pure rage and energy at the same time. I could tell that he wanted me dead, and there was nothing I could do about it. He was just too powerful, I could actually see what looked like lightning arcing from point to point across the portions of his body that were visible. And then there was the heat. It literally came off of him, causing the air around him to shimmer. And he used it along with that lightning and so much more on me."

"To kill you."

"Yes."

"Thank you, that will be all."

Tristain rose as Gareth returned to his seat, not giving Ulic the chance to call her up. "Ke Daiv, you said when you first met the defendant that you had been hired to deal with him. In what way?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you are asking."

"Well, dealing with someone could mean a great number of things. Maybe he had leased something that he had missed payments on and you had been sent to reposes it. Perhaps he was suppose to testify in some kind of trial and refused, and you had been sent to bring him in. Or he was going to testify and you'd been sent to scare him into not testifying. Just what had your employers sent you to do?"

"I am a Blood Carver. We are known for the art of chipping away that which is not wanted, particularly when it comes to the living."

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"Assassination."

"So you were sent to kill the defendant."

"That's right."

"And because of his master's intervention, you failed."

"Yes."

"Then Tarkin hired you as part of a unit to bring him back an example of a special ship. Where were you to get this ship?"

"On the planet Zonama Sekot, the only place where they were built."

"And you failed to do so. Why?"

"The way they built ships was to use what they refereed to as seed-partners. The ship created with these seeds responds only to the person who manages to get seed-partners. The seed-partners rejected me, and ate my clothes. There was no way I could purchase a ship."

"So what did you do in response to this?"

"I wrecked much of the place where one went to get their seed-partners, injuring several of their people when they tried to prevent me from leaving. I then reported to my superior for the mission and explained what had happened and that I would be proceeding with the back-up plan."

"Did my client know of this?"

"Objection, requires the witness to make an assumption on what the defendant did or did not know."

"Sustained."

"Let me try that again. Do you think the defendant knew what you had done?"

"He must have. He knew that the seed-partners rejected me."

"And how did you capture him and his ship?"

"I surprised him and his master, taking his master out and threatening the life of the female he had with him if he would not fly the ship. So he flew it."

"And you continued to threaten him and the female."

"I made it clear that if he did not do as I required, I would kill him and the female. If he did not do what I wanted, my mission would be a total failure and my superiors would not hesitate to kill me for it. If I were to die, I would at least take pleasure in their deaths."

"So you took out his master, whom we must assume the defendant did nt know whether he was alive or not, you then threatened the defendant's life and the life of another, a female. Would you say the defendant was scared by what you had done?"

"Objection."

"I want to hear this, over ruled."

"As you said, I had dealt with his master, and threatened his life and the life of the female with him. I had already tried to kill him once, and he knew it. As old as he was, if he had not been frightened he would have been foolish."

"So he took the chance to save himself and the woman with him."

"Yes."

"And frightened as he was, do you think it's possible he had no idea what he was doing?"

"No, he knew what he was doing. But it seemed that it scared him more than I did."

"Thank you Ke Daiv." Tristain returned to her seat.

"Would the prosecution like to redirect?"

Gareth nodded as he stood up. "You said that your superiors would kill you if you failed the mission. Did that scare you at all?

"It certainly did, made me more determined not to fail."

"And that meant that you'd use any means you thought necessary to succeed."

"Yes."

"Even if it frightened the defendant to the point where he would be willing to kill you?"

"Yes."

"Thank you Ke Daiv."

Tristain was up once again. "Did the defendant actually want to use the powers he used on you?"

"No. As I said he did want to kill me. But the powers he used frightened him more than I did, and he wanted to stop, to not use those powers. Yet it seemed he had no choice, that he had been possessed by them and had no chance in stopping what he did."

"One final question. Did he regret using them?"

"He most certainly did. He wanted me to live. I could feel that he would do what ever he could to save my life. But he couldn't. And I'm certain that fact hurt him even more than I could have."

"Thank you, Ke Daiv."


	5. Chapter 5

-1

At the time I originally wrote this, the story of Darth Maul's resurrection was fairly new and I had to wonder if it was Infinities or not. I'm not sure if it is to be considered such or not still, but I enjoyed the idea of the "resurrected"Maul being brought in as a wittness so I choose to leave it in here.

* * *

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 5

Over the next few hours Gareth called forth several witnesses to testify to Anakin's evil nature. And over those hours, Tristain did her best to disprove the testimony the witnesses had given. While Anakin hoped that she succeeded, it began to matter little to him as to what was going on. The trial was supposed to be a means to decide where he'd spend the afterlife, but it began to feel more like it was a trial to prove how evil he'd been in his life.

He knew he'd served the dark side for so much of his life. And even then some part of him had always regretted what he did. But now that regret seemed to be who he was. He'd had a chance to hold on just a little longer when he lay dying on the second Death Star. He'd known it, even as Luke was saying that he couldn't die. And he'd known his son would have done everything he could to save his life. Maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing. Maybe he could have lived a few more years, trying to make amends for what he'd done.

But even when that thought had occurred to him then, he knew that anything he could have done to make amends would have barely been a drop in the bucket when compared to all the evil he'd caused. He could have spent another fifty years of his life trying to make up for what he'd done and it would never be enough. Some might actually choose to remember him as a good man for it, too. But most would always remember him as the man who had helped Palpatine nearly crush the galaxy under his thumb. Perhaps he deserved that.

"No," Anakin mumbled. "I did deserve it."

"Deserve what?" Yoda asked, giving him a knowing look. It was the same look he'd received so many times from the Jedi Master during his training at the Jedi Temple. The same look he'd received the day the council had tested him at Qui-Gon's request.

"To be hated. I could have held on to life just a little longer, so that Luke could get me to someplace where the doctors could save me. And then I could have spent the rest of my life doing what I could to make amends. But it would never have been enough.

"I'd spent so much of my life helping Palpatine to spread his darkness over the galaxy. Maybe some would choose to remember me after I died as a good man for what I would have done to make amends. But most folks would always remember the monster I had been. And they'd always hate me for it. I'd have deserved their hatred."

"They would, yes," Yoda agreed, though his face had softened. "But monster they would see, mistake would that be. Vader you were, yes, but right was Luke. In you, still good . Anakin Skywalker that was. A monster Darth Vader was."

"But Master Yoda, I was Darth Vader."

At this point Yoda poked his little cane into Anakin's chest. "The body and mind Darth Vader was. The spirit he was not. As Darth Vader, the spirit of Anakin Skywalker destroy you could not. The good in you Luke saw it wa . And defeat the evil of Darth Vader you did. Reclaim yourself in doing so."

"Yoda is right, though I failed to see it," Obi-Wan added. "Even after I became one with the Force I couldn't see it. I saw the evil of Vader, the loss of both my student and friend to the dark side. But Luke could see it, just as Padme had. He knew, and that's why he didn't want to face you as a Jedi facing a Sith Lord."

Anakin nodded, remembering how Luke had refused to fight him in their final battle. He could have easily killed his son, and he would have let him. But Luke wasn't about to let him harm his sister, or turn her to the dark side. That had been all he'd needed to get Luke to fight. It had also been all that was needed to get Luke to release his anger, to use it as a means to defeat him.

Luke had then proven to be more than a match for him. He'd become more a savage beast than a skilled warrior. Vader was forced to try and defend himself, though he just barely succeeded. Luke blindly struck fast and hard, wearing him down. And when he'd worn him down enough, Luke had cut off his hand.

Yet as he was getting ready to strike a death blow, Luke realized what he had done. He'd then let go of the anger he had embraced only moments before, banished it and refused to do what Palpatine wanted. Seeing this, Palpatine had tried to kill Luke. Vader watched, feeling mixed emotions. Part of him wanted Luke to die, not only for harming him, but for refusing to join Palpatine. But there was another part, the part that wanted Luke to live, to protect his son. And when Luke had called to him for help, he knew what he had to do. He knew that Luke had been right about there still being good left in him. Vader would have willingly let Palpatine kill his son, but Anakin could not.

* * *

"I call Darth Maul to the stand."

Anakin's head came up when he heard the name, his glance quickly moving over to Obi-Wan's face. Obi-Wan showed his shock at that choice in witnesses on the part of the prosecution. Maul had never seen Anakin turn to the dark side, he'd killed him after he dealt Qui-Gon the fatal blow. If anything, Maul could attest to Anakin's goodness, his helping his friends escape from certain death on Tatooine.

All attention in the room turned as Trugg and Dia Koban escorted Maul in, and Anakin suddenly understood why he was being called. Though Obi-Wan still did not, despite having been one with the Force for the better part of four years.

"That's not Maul. He's slightly shorter, far less muscles, horns sharper, not as dull as Maul's were, as if they haven't seen the years Maul's saw. And the eyes, their too red. Gareth has always been so honest. But why throw that away, why resort to such tactics to keep you from becoming one with the light side?" Obi-Wan wondered under his breath, just barely loud enough for Anakin to hear.  
"No, it is Maul, but not the real one," Anakin told him. "Years after you defeated Maul on Naboo, after I became Vader and you hid away on Tatooine to watch over Luke, a group of Sith zealots decided that I was unfit to be Palpatine's apprentice. So they took it upon themselves to create the perfect apprentice. Somehow they used Sith magic to create a clone of Maul, but not exactly a clone. In essence, Darth Maul reborn.

"Just before the Battle of Yavin, I was sent to locate the stolen plans to the Death Star. This was before Leia got her hands on them. I had thought I tracked the plans down to this backwater planet, but in reality, I had been lured there. And I was pitted against this Maul. I barely defeated him."

"And as you were Vader at the time..."

"He can attest to my being a Sith Lord," Anakin finished.

Unlike Greedo, Trugg and Dia kept their sabers ignited, keeping them close to Maul. It became pretty obvious that neither of them trusted him enough to give him as much room as they had Greedo. Perhaps, Anakin decided, it was for the best as Maul appeared contemptuous of all in the courtroom. Even more importantly, it looked as if he were planning to escape.

The very idea of Maul getting loose and disappearing somewhere in the lands the light side frightened Anakin. He could only imagine what would happen if a Sith who had been banished to the dark side were suddenly free in the light side. Even worse was the idea of him somehow managing to get back his ability to use the Force.

"Do you swear that what you say shall be the truth and nothing but the truth?" Dia asked. Her still ignited lightsaber added a certain emphasis to her words.

"I do," Maul said with a snarl.

Gareth approached, but made sure not to get to close to the witness. "You faced off against the defendant before, correct?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Kalakar Six."

"And why did the two of you face off?"

"To decide who would serve as Lord Sidious' apprentice."

"Apprentice? What kind of apprentice?"

"The only kind that truely matters. A Sith apprentice."

"So he had to have turned to the dark side in order to be a Sith, correct?"

"Yes."

"That means he had to hate, correct?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, that will be all."

"Why were you and the defendant fighting on Kalakar Six?" Tristain asked as she got up. Unlike Gareth, she moved right up to the witness stand. Anakin figured it was a dumb move, but realized that doing so might help to discredit Gareth's questions of Maul. She would look braver, maybe make it look as if Gareth had told Maul what to say.

"I have already answered that question. We fought to decide who was to be Lord Sidious' Sith apprentice."

"Yes, we all know what you were fighting for. But at the time, the defendant was Palpatine's, excuse me, Lord Sidious' apprentice. So there had to be a reason for the fight. I'm just curious what that reason was."

"Those who resurrected me felt that he was tainted. He was still a Jedi, and Lord Sidious deserved one who was not tainted. The dark side deserved one who was not tainted. I was to be that one."

"The defendant was still a Jedi? How could that be? After all, he had become the Sith Lord Darth Vader."

"He did not fight like a true Sith. He fought like a Jedi. And I could feel the good in him. I could feel the light side radiate from him."

"Did he use the light side to defeat you?"

"No, he actually used the dark side. He hated himself enough to defeat me. Hate is off the dark side. Hate was what he needed to defeat me."

"Yet he knew just how dark you were. Do you think it possible, as a Jedi, that his desire to protect the innocent from the dark side is what actually made it possible for him to defeat you? And that he lied about being able to hate to hide the fact that he was still a Jedi?"

Maul thought about the question for a minute, his expression turning to shock and then to one of pure hatred. "Yes, yes it is possible. The Jedi are weak, and they foolishly wish to protect those weaker than they from the truth. I allowed myself to be distracted, the kind of distraction that would allow a Jedi a chance to defeat me."

"Thank you, no more questions."

"You said you were resurrected." Gareth said as he got up for redirection. This time he made certain to get closer to Maul, yet he still couldn't get as close as he had with previous witnesses.

"Yes."

"So you remember fighting the Jedi?"

"Objection, what is the point of the line of questioning?"

"The point, your honor, is to establish the witness's knowledge of the light and dark sides."

"The witness will answer the question."

"Yes, I remember fighting the Jedi."

"So that means that you could recognize when one is using the dark side."

"Yes."

"And when the defendant defeated you, which did you feel?

"The dark side."

"Thank you." With that, Gareth sat back.

Tristain got up immediately, smiling at Gareth who suddenly realized he'd been baited. "Who was the defendant's master?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"And who was his master?"

"Qui-Gon Jinn."

"And how often did you fight Master Jinn?"

"Once. I killed him during the only fight we ever had."

"On Tatooine?"

Maul thought about it for a minute, clearly not certain where he had killed him. "Yes."

"And Obi-Wan killed you on Coruscant?"

"Yes." Again it became clear he wasn't sure where it took place.

"Then how is it that you both died on Naboo?"

"Because it must have been on Naboo instead, I guess."

"You guess, you don't know?

"Yes."

"And didn't the two of you have another duel before the one where you both died?"

"I guess so."

"Again you guess, you don't know?

"That's right."

"Of course it is. You claim you were resurrected, but wasn't the defendant first told that there are ways to create an individual, and then told that those who did this resurrected you?"

"Objection, assumes the witness was present for this."

"If the prosecution had done his homework, he'd already know Maul was present for this," Ulic said, letting it be known that he already knew what occured on Kalakar Six. "The witness will answer the question."

"Yes."

"And do you think it possible that resurrect in this case means to recreate a certain individual without bringing them back to life?"

"I suppose. But then why would I know who his master and who his master's master were?"

"You already know the answer to that, don't you? Because those who created you told you."

This time Maul slumped in his seat. His eyes began looking about for a chance to escape, but he couldn't find one. "Yes, they told me."

"Based on the fact that you don't know where both you and Qui-Gon Jinn died, nor how many times you two fought, wouldn't this suggest that they created you to be Darth Maul and did not resurrect him? And that they told you all you needed to know?"

"I suppose."

"Which means that they also told you that the defendant was good."

"I could feel the good in him."

"No, you couldn't. Because he was the only other Force-user you ever fought. And you had been told that he was a Jedi still. But his claiming he hated himself made you think it was true. And so you couldn't tell if he was using the light side or the dark."

"The only way the Sith can fall is if they are killed by another Sith!"

"That's what you were told. But the Sith fall, just like everyone else can. And most Sith know that they can fall, which is why they take steps to keep from doing so. But you were created and taught by dark side heretics. And you were taught what they wanted you to know. The real Maul would have known better than you."

It proved to much for Maul. With a scream he leapt out of his seat, hand's reaching for Tristain's throat. But he never reached her. Ulic made a quick motion with his hand, levitating Tristain out of the way as Trugg and Dia then moved in, lightsabers flashing. They quickly subdued Maul and escorted him from the courtroom.

"The defense will be more cautious with whom she provokes during this trial," Ulic admonished once Maul was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

-1

Folks who have played the Knights of the Old Republic games may feel I don't know very much about the Jedi's feelings towards attachment thousands of years before the movies. I have to disagree as the original Knights of the Old Republic was actually the comic series that launched the Tales of the Jedi story arc and is known as both Tales of the Jedi and Knights of the Old Republic. In that particular arc it's pretty clear that the Jedi had different feelings towards attachment and when one should begin their training. I prefer those feelings myself and that's one reason their seen in this chapter.

* * *

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 6

"The prosecution calls Imperial Admiral Winstel Greelanx."

Admiral Greelanx entered the room as if he owned it. Greelanx gave Anikin a menacing smile as he took the witness stand. Dia swore him in and the man took his seat.

Gareth approached the man as if he expected just being close to the him would require a bath afterwards. "Tell me, Admiral Greelanx, did you know the defendant?"

"Not personally, no. But I knew of him, his reputation."

"And what was that reputation?"

"He was the Emperor's right hand, his enforcer. Everyone in the Imperial Navy knew to fear him because we knew what he did to those who failed him. Or the Emperor."

"And how did he reward failure?"

"Objection, the prosecution is leading the witness," Tristain said.

"You're honor, if I am leading the witness, it is only because the witness is leading me. He mentioned that the defendant did something to those who failed him without telling us what it was he would do. I should think it important to this trial that we hear what that was."

"Objection overruled," Ulic said without a moments hesitation.

"Gareth could have said go on or continue instead of asking the question the way he did," Tristain whispered under her breath. She realized she'd said it just barely loud enough to be heard when she saw Anakin chuckling out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry about it," Anakin whispered to her. "You'll deal with any trouble Greelanx gives us when the time comes."

Tristain nodded as she focused her attention on Greelanx. He'd already revealed that as Darth Vader, Anakin had rewarded failure with death. She'd known that would have to come up at some point during the trial, yet to have it appear so soon was something she hadn't been prepared for. She tried to go over what she knew about Greelanx, something that could hurt his testimony. The only thing she could come up with was the fact that he'd been bought out by the smugglers he'd been charged with defeating. Maybe that could help.

"Could you tell us, Admiral Greelanx, what it was you failed to do?"

"I didn't fail to do anything. I had been ordered to execute a Base Delta Zero upon Nar Shaddaa, the Smuggler's Moon..."

"Forgive me," Ulic interupted, "but what's a Base Delta Zero?"

"The order to decimate a planet," Anakin spoke up before Greelanx could. He was visibly shaking as he continued, beads of sweat forming at his brow. It was as if he knew that he'd sealed his own fate but knew he couldn't stop now. "All life on a planet is to be either rounded up or killed. Everything is to be destroyed utterly. As if the planet never existed."

"Forget I asked," Ulic said under his breath as he motioned to Greelanx to continue.

"As I was saying, I'd been issued a Base Delta Zero against the Smuggler's Moon. Just before I could carry out my orders, I received orders from Excomm that I was to loose the battle, suffer a strategic defeat. Excomm is highly placed in Imperial Intelligence, it is the Imperial security branch of our intel corps which answered only to two people. And those two were the Emperor himself and the defendant."

Tristain's head came up at the mention of Excomm. That had been what she'd been looking for. He'd followed orders. But at the same time he'd received those orders there had been a traitor to the Empire who had managed to infiltrate one of their own agents into Excomm. It had been feared that anyone who failed to carry out their orders had been in league with the traitor.

She listened to Gareth ask about what had happened after the battle. Greelanx explained how Vader had arrived to kill him, how he figured that he'd been sent to keep Greelanx from revealing his Excomm orders. But what he said now no longer mattered. She had her way of harming his testimony. Even if Imperial laws weren't something so many in the lands of the light side could agree with, she knew that this was one instance that they would work in her favor.

"Thank you, Admiral," Gareth said as he turned and looked at Tristain, a challenging smile on his face. "Your witness, counsellor."

"Your honor, the defense requests a five minute recess to prepare it's line of questioning for the witness."

Ulic seemed to mull over the request before he responded. His silence worried Tristain more than she let on. Though she knew she could shatter Greelanx's testimony by using Imperial law, it would all be worthless if she lost the chance to get the last piece of the puzzle. "In light of all that this court has been through in the past few hours, I feel that the request for a recess is one that we all could use. However, the time asked for that recess is too short a time to allow this court time to relax before it continues. Therefore, I adjourn this court for a thirty minute recess."

Tristain breathed a sigh of relief, not caring who might hear her. She followed the lead of everyone else in the courtroom as she rose from the table, motioning Anakin to follow her. Obi-Wan and Yoda fell in behind them as they left the courtroom.

* * *

"The question is whether or not Anakin Skywalker's redemption outweighs his life as a minion of the dark side," Torr Snapit said as soon as the door to the jury room was closed. "If we were forced to make a vote right now, I'd have to place an undecided vote before this jury. Gareth Zurkian makes excellent work of convincing me that Skywalker does indeed deserve to be found guilty in the way he questions the witnesses. In fact, what the prosecution's witnesses have been saying so far makes me believe that Skywalker was an evil man and deserves to be treated as such. Yet Tristain Ahtze does an even better job of harming Zurkian's work. She's caused his witnesses to cast doubt on their own testimony."

"That's her job," Jori Daragon reminded everyone. "Just as it will be his job to attempt to get her witnesses to cast doubt on their testimony."

"Right now, if we were to cast a vote, then mine would have to be guilty," Darsha Assant remarked without realizing she'd said so out loud. When she caught the expectant stares of those around her, she felt her cheeks get a bit warmer.

"Any particular reason you say that?" Torr asked.

"He was a padawan and I would have gotten to know him had I not died just before he was accepted into the order. What gets me is that with all the training, all the discipline he received at the temple, he turned against the order and helped to bring about it's destruction. We've heard from numerous witnesses already how he helped to hunt the Jedi down and kill them. And we've heard about so many others he's killed. The most noticeable being that Tusken tribe on Tatooine. He knew it was wrong to do these things, and yet he still did them. And Zurkian has shown time and again that he didn't care."

"In your opinion," Jedi Master Arca Jeth told her. "But Gareth Zurkian has been focusing heavily on Darth Vader being a monster. Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader, and Darth Vader was indeed a monster. There can be no doubt about that. Even Skywalker has acknowledged that fact.

"But this is a trial to determine whether or not the evil Skywalker committed outweighs his redemption as well as all the good he did. I feel that Jedi Zurkian has done his case a great injustice by focusing on Skywalker as a monster. We need to believe him to be an evil man.

"A childhood bully will be seen as a monster by those he picks on, but is he evil? Does he pick on them through some deep seeded nature to cause them harm and force them to live their lives in terror or does he pick on them because he is made to be a bully? Usually, it is because they are made to be a bully. And that seems be what Ms. Ahtze is trying to focus on.

"Skywalker was certainly open to corruption, there is no doubt about that. But he is perhaps the ultimate childhood bully. He began life as he knew it as a slave, receiving the treatment of a slave. Treatment that caused resentment and anger. The Jedi Council no doubt knew this, but what did they do to get him to release his anger and resentment? How often did he get to visit with his mother?"

"When one joins the order, we are to cut all ties with our family. The order becomes our family. Such links were considered unwise for us as they could open us to the dark side," Jude Rozess responded.

"Exactly," Master Arca agreed. "I have been saying for ages how wrong it was for the Jedi order to begin doing that. The Jedi lost touch who it was they were to protect. And they lost touch with who they were. By knowing your family, by being able to love and raise a family, then the Jedi were reminded of all that.

"Naturally one runs the risks of falling prey to the dark side when they are allowed to love, allowed to know their family. But cutting such links, abolishing the ability to love did not remove such potential. For some such a lifestyle would certainly work. Yet how many Jedi of your time were likely to resent the fact that the choice had been made for them?"

Jude remained silent, acknowledging what she'd heard so often since her death. What she herself had begun to wonder about. Her silence allowed Master Arca to continue addressing the jury.

"Allowing Skywalker to visit with his mother from time to time would probably have better helped him come to grips with his becoming a Jedi. And it would have possibly acted as a valve to release some of his anger and resentment. This anger and resentment being directed at his not getting to share his life with her. Yet all of this continued to build, and it was that which would allow Palpatine to turn him.

"We have been shown, so far, in the cross examination of the prosecution witnesses that Skywalker was acting as one would expect a childhood bully to act. Granted it has been on a much greater scale compared with the action of a bully. But we have not yet been shown that Skywalker was a truly evil man as Darth Vader. And I expect that unless Jedi Zurkian begins to do so soon, we won't see so."

"During my life I have seen many examples of what the dark side can do, as well as examples of people fully giving themselves over to the dark side and allowing it's evil into their hearts," Nomi Sunrider said. "And I have seen Ulic's redemption. Along with the horror on his face when he killed his own brother. Skywalker's shakes and shudders, his looks of remorse and disgust at his own actions are not merely his acting to make us believe he truly regrets the life he lived. At least I believe this to be the case."

"The trial is far from over," Jedi Master Micah Giiett said. "The prosecution has yet to call their final witness, and the defense still has to take the stand. All our opinions at this point may yet change."

* * *

"So, any idea how you're going to defeat Admiral Greelanx's plan?" Obi-Wan asked.

"All I need is one last bit of information," Tristain told him with a grin.

"Hmmm, information," Yoda mummered knowingly. "A plan you have. Against young Skywalker Greelanx's testimony no longer so damning. From Skywalker information shall come."

"From me?" Anakin asked, puzzled.

"Yes Anakin. Around the time of the Battle of Nar Shadaa, what were Excomm's orders regarding ordered failure?"

"At that time we suspected a traitor in our midst. All field commanders were given orders, coded Sigma Alpha-001-Nu-020, which said that if they received orders from Excomm concerning loosing a battle that they were to either immediately confirm their orders or immediately after the battle tell us they had done as ordered. Failure to do so would suggest that they were in league with the traitors. Only a direct order from myself to them canceling that order would allow them to ignore the previous orders."

"That's just what I was hoping to hear."


	7. Chapter 7

-1

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 7

"All rise," Trugg ordered as Ulic came into the room.

Ulic sat down at the bench and motioned for everyone to do the same. "This hearing to determine the fate of Anakin Skywalker. Court shall now come to order. Counsellor Ahtze, do you have any questions for the witness?"

"I do, your honor."

"Very well. Admiral Greelanx, if you would please return to the witness stand?"

Ulic didn't have to ask Greelanx to return to the stand as he was already approaching it as soon as he heard that Tristain still intended to question him. Nor did he get a chance to remind him he was still under oath. Greelanx sat down and immediatly propped his feet up on the railing to the witness stand as he leaned back in his seat and announced to the court that he was still under oath.

"The witness will also show this court the respect it deserves and conduct himself with the proper dignity and decorum expected of an individual of his rank and status," Ulic reprimanded Greelanx. He immediately did as he was told.

"Admiral, isn't it true that you were hired to loose the battle?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Come now, Admiral, this acting coy doesn't become you. Or do you really need to be reminded of your meeting with that smuggler."

"No, that won't be necessary." Greelanx gave a defeated sigh. Anakin realized that Greelax had deliberately tried to refuse answering because he wanted to see him banished for killing him.

"Then if you would be so kind as to answer the question."

"The Hutt's sent an envoy to buy me off. I gave him my battle plans and he told me to follow the plans and withdraw my squadron when I felt it justifiable. Hardly a consideration considering my orders."

"Hardly, you say. Indeed, you'd received the Excomm orders just before the Hutt bribe. There was no need to provide your battle plans, you could have shown up and surprised the smugglers, let them get lucky enough to maybe take out a part of your squadron. The Hutt bribe would have fit in well with those orders without supplying your plans."

"True, but then I would have looked like I was someone who could be easily bought."

"Excuse me, Admiral, but isn't that what occurred when you gave them your plans?"

"Well, I suppose you could look at it that way."

"Even if you're already planning to loose, was selling your battle plans without amending them afterwards the way things were done in the Imperial Navy?"

"No, certainly not. For starters, we never planned to loose any battle we were to fight. Though my Excomm orders were contradictory to the way things were run, of course. If we were to sell our own plans to the enemy, we'd sell them fake plans, or amend the plan afterwards to ensure our enemy was still unprepared for what we threw at them."

"Yet you failed to do so. You had orders that said you were to loose and then came the bribe. Wasn't there any other way you could have allowed your plans to fall into your opponents hands?"

"I suppose I could have accidentally left a copy of them someplace where the Hutt's envoy could have swiped them. That way I would have been able to say that I had not given them the plans."

"And yet you allowed yourself to be bought. You sold the Hutts the plans and never changed them."

"I had orders to loose the battle. Selling my battle plans to the Hutts was a way to allow me to follow those orders without looking incompetent."

"Yes, it all comes down to your Excomm orders, doesn't it.

"You're honor, the defense has already made it plain that the witness allowed himself to be bought so as to carry through on his orders. Is their a point to this line of questioning?"

"You're honor, if you would allow me to continue, I'm sure the court will see my point soon enough," Tristain asked as she turned to face Ulic.

"Make it quick, counselor."

"Of course." Tristain turned back to the witness. "Admiral, according to Imperial law, how is a traitor in the Imperial Military supposed to dealt with.

"Objection, is the defense now claiming that the witness is a traitor for allowing himself to be bought despite the fact that he already had orders to loose?"

"You're honor, I assure the court that this is an important question."

"Objection overruled. This had better be a damn important question, counselor as the court is beginning to wonder if you actually have anything to contribute to your client's defense by questioning the witness or if you are just stalling for time."

"Please answer the question, Admiral," Tristain said.

"If it was felt that information could be extracted from them, then a suspected traitor would be arrested and held for questioning. If not, then according to Imperial law 11432-17 section III paragraph c they were to be executed as soon as possible for their acts of treason."

"Were you aware that at the time you were issued you're orders that the Empire suspected that there had been a traitor to the Empire who managed to have an agent infiltrate Excomm and dispatch orders that went against those the Empire itself was issuing?"

Greelanx's face began to go white as what she was saying sank in. "No. But my orders came from Excomm. I wasn't in league with these traitors. I could merely say that I'd received my orders and that I didn't know that it had been traitors who sent them.

"And I suppose you were also familiar with order Sigma Alpha-001-Nu-020?"

"Yes," Greelanx said, defeated. "It said that if we were to recieve orders from Excomm to loose a battle, that we send confirmation of reception as soon as possible. But the Excomm answered directly to the Emperor or the defendant. I had assumed that the defendant had temporarily abolished that order when I received my Excomm orders."

"And is it possible that the traitor had managed to learn of the Hutt's buying you off and leaked that info as well so as to make you look as if you were in league with them?"

"Yes."

"Would it thus be easy for you to assume that the defendant, and possibly even the Emperor himself, felt that there was nothing to be gained from questioning you?"

"If they had managed to get the traitor and he or she had claimed I was in league with them, filling them in on my real and supposed activities, then yes, under the aforementioned Imperial law I would have been sentenced to immediate execution. Even if the traitor had not been captured but had merely implicated me to the point where questioning me would have been pointless my execution notice would already have been signed.

"Thank you, Admiral. You have been most helpful."


	8. Chapter 8

-1

For those actually reading this story, this is the first new chapter written for the story in years.Future chapters will probably be a little slower in coming as I'll only be able to work on them when I have the time.

* * *

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 8

"The prosecution calls Captain Gillmunn of Jabiim."

"Hmmm, interesting," Tristain whispered as she leaned over to Anakin, not paying attention as the captain was sworn in. "Garethmust be trying to throw me off my toes by moving about in your life. First we seem to have been doing nothing but moving forward. Now suddenly we've dropped back to before you became Vader. Yes, most interesting indeed."

Anakin said nothing, merely nodding in reply as he watched Gillmunn take the stand. He wasn't surprised that Trugg and Dia didn't escort him forward, the Jabiimi captain certainly hadn't been a dark man when he'd known him. Rather, he'd been concerned about his people's safety. Alto Stratus had lead a coup the year before the Battle of Jabiim that had overthrown the Jabiimi government. He'd then thrown his lot in with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and killed at least half the planet's population, the half that remained loyal to the Republic. Gillmunn had lead the resistance against Stratus, being the only force to resist the would be dictator until Republic troops had arrived.

"Captain Gillmunn, when did you first meet the defendant?"

"On Jabiim, when he and his master arrived with reinforcements from the Republic."

"Reinforcements?"

"Yes. I was leading the resistance against the usurper, Atlo Stratus. Many of my people had died fighting his forces for a year. Perhaps we all would have died at his hands within a month or so had the Republic not arrived when it did. My army wasn't very big anymore, but it was still a threat to Stratus, one he was willing to grind under his heel. General Kenobi and Commander Skywalker's troops bolstered our forces and gave us a reason to feel hope again."

"That hope didn't last very long, I take it?"

"No, Stratus wasn't a foolish man. He knew that even though his forces outnumbered my army, the Republic army had him outmanned. And they had the technological advantage as well. At least when they first arrived.

"Stratus kept luring General Kenobi further from the Republic's main encampment, Shelter Base, stringing his army out so that it became thinner the further he got from the encampment. It was all a part of his plan to even the odds in his favor. String us out and then when we were weak, attack at the weakest points. Show no mercy and expect none in return.

"It was a plan that seemed to work a little to well, too. Especially once Count Dooku sent droids to back Stratus up. We thought General Kenobi was killed in action, hundreds of clones and my own people were dieing. Jedi were dieing. Stratus had us on the retreat for the first time since the Republic landed. Even if he were to be killed, I knew that if my people weren't evacuated, or more Republic troops landed to bolster our forces, those of us Jabiimi who stood against his forces would eventually be put to death."

"Did evacuation come?"

"Only for the clones. And Skywalker. For the Jabiimi still loyal to the Republic, we were left to fight for our lives. And to die. They'd promised to free us from Stratus and his politics. Too bad for us they didn't keep that promise."

"But you wanted them to keep it, didn't you? You had been promised that one way or another you would be free of Stratus and his politics. Surely one way would have been to evacuate the planet's forces loyal to the Republic. So what prevented that evacuation from occurring?"

"Skywalker. He thanked us for being loyal to the Republic, but their pet clones were no longer going to fight our battle. To him the clones were more important than the lives of men who had shown their loyalty to the Republic all their lives. So he left us there to continue to fight for our home.

"Our home! That was a joke. Jabiim had been destroyed, we didn't have a home anymore. We wanted the Republic to show us it cared about those who stayed loyal to it. But Skywalker didn't care about us, only about them damn clones. And then to make his point, he chocked me!"

"How did he choke you, Captain? Just lunge at you with his bare hands? Or maybe wrap a cord around your throat and begin to pull it taut?"

"No, he used the Force. I could feel invisible fingers wrap around my throat as he just stood a couple meters away. The look in his eyes, one I'll never forget. Anger, loathing, a desire to kill. Only thing that prevented it was that he needed to leave, immediately, or else be grounded for several more days."

"Thank you, Captain, that will be all."

Tristain got up, making a show of shuffling some flimsies before confronting the witness. Anakin had to wonder if she had actually been going over her notes or if she merely wanted the court to think she had. Somehow he thought it had to be the latter, she just seemed to absorb the information too well to actually need notes.

"Captain, please, what was going on in the galaxy when the Republic sent forces to you planet?"

"Why, the Clone Wars. Everyone in life at that time had to have heard of them."

"The Clone Wars? Excuse me, don't you mean the Clone War? Singular, not plural."

"No, I mean the Clone Wars. General Kenobi said that was the new name of the war which had begun on Geonosis. They'd thought originally that it was going to just be a war pitting the Republic against the Separatists. Neither side expected civil wars to break out across the galaxy as folks fought each other on their home planets to determine which side of the war their planet would be on. So naturally, both the Republic and the Separatists sent their own forces to help fight these civil wars as well as their main war. Hence Clone Wars, plural."

"So the Republic was not fighting just one war, but many smaller wars that were in some way related to the larger one, is that correct?"

"That's right."

"Did you ever hear how long it took to create a clone soldier?"

"Can't say I ever heard an exact number, but the feeling I got from what I did hear was in terms of several years."

"Several years. According to the figures, the Kaminoans were able to grow, and train, a single clone trooper to full, combat prepared maturity in ten years time. Did it take that long for the Confederacy of Independent States to do the same thing with their troops?"

"Well, I'd say for some it took much longer. Those were the sentients, however. Born and raised to a certain age before they could even begin training for any kind of martial service, just like us on Jabiim. Combat prepared maturity would then take a few more years for us sentients.

"But the bulk of the Separatist forces during the wars were droids. Those troops could be built by the thousands on assembly lines in a matter of hours, and programmed for combat in the same amount of time. So you loose a droid it doesn't matter, in only a few hours you could have ten more to take it's place. Loose a living soldier and it would take years just to get one man to take their place."

"Even if that soldier were a clone?"

Gillmunn stroked his beard for a moment before answering her. "Well, if the figures you quoted are correct, then yes, it would take time to create a new clone just to replace one lost in combat. Of course them cloners would have to have been stupid to wait for a clone to be lost before they started to grow new ones. So I'd imagine they'd be starting new clones every now and then just to have some ready to come up as replacements for those lost in combat."

"But even so, ten years is a lot longer than a few hours, even if the Kaminoans waited at least a week to a month before starting the next batch. That would still have meant a week to a month before a replacement could be had. On Jabiim, once Stratus launched his counter assault against the Republic and loyalist forces, do you think you could have waited that long to replace those clones you were loosing in battle?"

"If Stratus had given us enough time to rest between his attacks and the weather had been better, maybe. But the weather was so bad the Republic couldn't have landed reinforcements without loosing most of them. And Stratus' attacks were so frequent that we were loosing clones at an alarming rate due to how badly strung out we were."

"How badly strung out you were. One wonders if the Republic was also badly strung out at that time."

"I suppose it's possible."

"Objection! Your honor, what does any of this have to do with Skywalker's abandoning allies of the Republic?"

"It has quite a bit to do with it, your honor." It was a ploy, and Tristain knew it. Gareth didn't want the jury to focus on what was occurring at that time across the galaxy, what may have forced Skywalker to abandon allies to their fate.

"I must agree with the defense, counselor. Overruled."

Gareth sat back in his seat, refusing to give Tristain the satisfaction of knowing she'd won that little round. Not that he needed to do anything, the judgment had already told her more than his actions could. The objection itself had told her more than Gareth would have liked to admit.

"Tell me, Captain, if the Republic was stretched thin at that point, and you didn't know when replacements for the men under General Kenobi's command would be coming up, who would you have chosen to evacuate had you been needed not only on Jabiim but hundreds of other worlds like Jabiim?"

Gillmunn didn't answer, rather, it looked like he couldn't answer. He seemed to be lost in time, his mind focused on that day so many years ago. It was a look Anakin was sure he'd had on his face when the orders came. Evacuate the men whose only loyalties were to the Republic and thus would fight anywhere they were sent, or the men who had been so loyal to the Republic, but also to their own home world. It hadn't been a choice he'd wanted to make. He wanted more transports, wanted to show the Jabiimi loyalist the gratitude they deserved for staying loyal to the Republic. For being so willing to die for their loyalties. But the Republic needed the clones even more than they needed allies who were loyal.

He had no doubt the Jabiimi loyalist were good fighters, but they had not been trained to fight in different types of environments as the clones had. And there was the question of whether or not they would be willing to fight. Jabiim had been their home world, that had been reason enough for them to fight to defend their freedoms and their loyalties. Had they been sent to places like Kamino or Naboo, would they have been so willing to lay down their lives for those worlds? Would the welfare of the Republic have come first to them?

It was a question that had to be asked of so many of the native military forces that fought beside the Republic. Some were fiercely loyal, like the Wookiees of Kashyyyk. Then there were others whose loyalty had to be questioned. Rendili had joined the Separatists, but it was hoped that it's fleet of dreadnaughts could be convinced to stay with the Republic. The fleet's commander had been convinced that the fleet needed to side with the Republic, but his junior officers felt otherwise. Their mutiny had nearly cost the Republic a vital asset. It only served to reinforce the need for the Republic to have its own military assets to rely on rather than those of it's members. If those members chose to leave the Republic and join the Separatists, then what was to keep their martial forces loyal to the Republic first?

Palpatine had foreseen that it would be like that, foreseen that the less the Republic felt it could trust it's own members to provide for its defense the more to would turn to forces strictly meant for that very purpose. That had been why he had planned the war under the guise of Darth Sidious. Show the Republic it needed its own military and a strong leader. The Republic would see the Separatists flocking to Dooku's banner, never knowing that Dooku's Sith lord was in fact the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. He had been the supreme leader of both sides, and only Dooku had known it. Together they saw to it that Palpatine got exactly what he wanted out of the Republic, exactly what it would take to pave the way for the Empire. A military fiercely loyal to the Republic first. And the Supreme Chancellor was the Republic, once Palpatine had conned the senate into granting him far to many governing powers.

But in those early days of the war they couldn't afford to waste the clones in order to put the lives of their loyal allies first. The military was still too new, it's troops too important. Jabiim had been a decision he didn't want to make. One that he regretted for the rest of the war. To see the hatred and desperation on the faces of the loyalist had been almost too much for him. It was the look of betrayal, of hope being taken away from them that had finally done it to him. Gillmunn and his men had trusted the Republic, had believed that Stratus had been wrong about it. And then he'd been forced to tell them he'd been right, that they couldn't trust any promises the Republic made to them. That he was no longer a man of his word, but merely one who kept his word when it was convenient. That had left a scar on his soul for the rest of the war.

"Captain, do you mind answering the question?" Tristain's voice brought Anakin out of his own contemplation, only to find the courtroom suddenly blurry. Hastily he ducked his head so no one could see him wipe away the tears.

"I..." Gillmunn began, his voice hoarse and his eyes seemingly as watery as Anakin's had been. "I suppose that I would have been forced to evacuate a more vital military asset first over a more local one. I would have taken the clones so they could be used elsewhere, but it would not have been something I would have wanted to do."

"Did the defendant show any reluctance to do exactly that?"

"Yes... Yes, I believe he did. He didn't want to look me in the eye when he told me his decision to evacuate the clones. I suppose he could have had tears in his eyes when he said he was leaving us to carry on the fight by ourselves. But with all the rain I couldn't be sure of that. Even on the transport he seemed more intent on myself and my people, almost regretful. At least that's the way things looked for as long as I could see him until the transport was too high and those doors were closed completely."

"That doesn't sound at all like a man who didn't care about his allies. It sounds to me more like a military commander placed between a nova and a black hole. No matter which he chooses he still looses in the end."

"I suppose so."

"But what about his choking you with the Force? Now that sounds like the work of a monster who could care less about his allies. Unless, of course, his hands were tied and he was trying to prevent more bloodshed. Tell me, captain, why did he choke you?"

"Objection, calls for the witness to make a speculation on the defendants motives."

"No, you honor, I'll answer the question," Gillmunn said before either Ulic or Tristian could say anything. "There is no speculation, I threatened Skywalker's life, and told him that my men and I would be taking their transports. I'd already hit him once and he'd tried as calmly as possible to tell me they were still leaving. We weren't going to let them go, not without a fight. Skywalker ordered me to stand down and I wouldn't do it. I don't think he intentionally meant to choke me, rather just to remind me who was in overall charge. Probably meant to grab my collar and lift me up a little with unseen hands. He certainly seemed as surprised by his actions as I was. And he was sorry for what he'd done, both to me for using the Force to stop me and to my men for abandoning us. That much was clear from the tone in his voice."

"How can that be? You said yourself that there was a look in his eyes you'd never forget. A look of anger, loathing, a desire to kill. That doesn't sound like the type of look someone who regretted what they had done would give."

"I guess I wanted to remember things differently. I'm sure there had to be some anger there, but also sadness and being upset at having to leave us. At having to be forced to stop someone who refused to listen."

"Wait, I don't understand. How can such a look become one of loathing and a desire to kill?"

"I was feeling those same emotions myself and I no doubt transferred them to the defendant. I didn't want to feel he may have been upset at having to leave us to fend for ourselves. I wanted to vilify Skywalker, to feel he had cared so little about us that he would never have kept any promises made."

"Thank you, no further questions."

"Would the prosecution wish to redirect?"

"No, your honor."

Gillmunn got down from the stand, nodding to the jury as he did so. As he approached the defense table, he stopped and stared at Anakin. "I don't care if they find you guilty or innocent, Skywalker. It's no longer my place to judge you. But I will have you know that I'll never be able to forgive you for leaving us there to die. We deserved better than that."

"Captain, I'm..." But before he could finish, Gillmunn had already turned and left, tears once more welling up at the memory of that day.

"The prosecution calls Jedi Master A'Sharad Hett to the stand."


	9. Chapter 9

-1

**The Trial of Darth Vader**

Chapter 9

Anakin could not believe how different A'Sharad was from the last time he'd seen the Jedi. His hair, what little there was, had turned shockingly white and deep wrinkles lined his face. He looked so ancient, despite being only a few years older than himself. Anakin remembered hearing from some of his people of Hett's death on Tatooine a couple months after the Battle of Hoth, but he'd never seen images of what A'Sharad had looked like at the time. In his mind he knew what his appearance had to be, but then just because one pictures someone they knew as looking a little older than when they last saw them certainly doesn't mean they'll look that way.

"Master Hett, you served as a Jedi with the defendant during the Clone Wars. During that time, did he ever display an inner darkness in your presence?"

A'Sharad didn't answer Gareth. Rather, he merely stared straight ahead, not looking at the prosecutor. In fact he didn't seem to be looking at anyone in the courtroom, or even considering the question. His attention was focused solely on the doors leading out. Gareth turned to see what had got his attention, seeing nothing but the doors. He turned back towards the stand, but once more turned to face the doors when he saw A'Sharad was still facing them. After a minute he realized nothing was about to happen and turned his attention back to the witness.

"Master Hett, did you hear the question?" Still A'Sharad showed no sign of answering Gareth. "You're honor…."

"Master Hett, did you hear the prosecutor's question?" Ulic asked calmly as he leaned over towards the witness stand. A'Sharad nodded his head, turning slightly toward him. "I assume you are still able to speak." Again he received a nod. "Then please, answer the man before I am forced to hold you in contempt."

Hearing this, Anakin leaned over to Tristain. "How can he be held in contempt when that would mean some kind of punishment being imposed? I can't see any need for punishments here."

"Master Hett's punishment would come in the form of having to escort a set number of witnesses to and from the lands of the dark side. I'm sure you've already been told what the afterlife is like there."

As they spoke, Gareth once more asked A'Sharad his question. Again, he looked as if he was not about to answer. But then he looked apologetically over at Anakin before finally turning to face the prosecutor.

"Yes. On Aargonar."

"How exactly did he do this?"

Again A'Sharad gave Anakin an apologetic glance, but there was no need. Anakin knew what the glance was about, guessed what had to be going through his mind. He gave the slightest of nods as if to say that it was alright.

"We had been shot down and were in need of reuniting with our forces. My padwan was dead, my troops were dead. Skywalker's master was believed killed on Jabiim, leaving him masterless at the time and assigned to my command. We were the sole survivors, deep in enemy territory.

"Together we had managed to avoid enemy patrols which allowed us to locate one of their ships. Skywalker admitted he'd be able to repair it, but it would require a couple of power cells. I offered him the power cells from both my father's and my own lightsabers, telling him I would fashion a weapon in the way of my people.

"I came back to find he was fighting sentries, it being obvious from where he was that they had discovered him. When I moved to help, he said that I was so eager to get at him that I'd kill my own to do so. All this time he was shouting that he would kill all of them, then added that he would kill me. That I was his kill."

"His kill? So he was trying to kill you along with your enemies. But why? Had he begun killing his fellow Jedi already?"

"No, it was because he saw me as a Tusken. He saw me as such because I wore the trappings of a Tusken. I do not know what caused him to see the sentries as such, but as he claimed I was killing my own to get at him, it was clear he saw them as Tuskens. I must assume from the way he was acting that he saw us as the clan who killed his mother. He had already made it clear before then that he had little care for Tuskens, though I paid it little heed."

"So because of his hatred for Tuskens he was willing to blindly attack you in a fit of rage. Thank you, Master Hett, no further questions."

Tristain was up in a flash, her bright smile making Gareth wish he hadn't been so fast to turn the witness over to her. "Master Hett, forgive me but you don't look like a Tusken. You look human. How is it that a human Jedi would choose to wear the trappings of a Tusken?"

"You would have to ask my father, Sharad Hett. He became a member of the clan I was born into, and the tribe to which our clan belonged. My mother had been taken as a little girl and eventually she became a member of the tribe before ever meeting my father. When I was born, I was raised as a Tusken, even though I was human. That was who I was, though my father realized I could become a Jedi and he began to train me as such.

"It was after Master Mundi came to Tatooine to ask my father to return to the Order, and after my father's death, that I was finally brought to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi. Had it not been for my father both beginning my training and asking Master Mundi to see that I became a Jedi, the Council might never have accepted me due to my age. I was about fifteen at the time, even older than Skywalker when he first joined the Order."

"So you were raised as a Tusken, even though you were human. You know, I'm Elidaelis and was raised as such. But Elidon is made up of several city-states. My father ended up moving to my mother's city-state before I was born, so I was raised in the culture of her city-state. And you know something, I was very proud of that culture. Were you proud of Tusken culture?"

"Yes, very much so. Until Aargonar I continued to wear my mask and clothing befitting a Tusken warrior, which would be covered on Tatooine by robes. I even marked my face so I would not have to be human under my outer face."

"Did you ever do anything else to remind the defendant that to you, you saw yourself as a Tusken?"

"Yes, I kept pointing out the Tusken way to him. Telling him he would have made a good Tusken."

"Is it possible that all that had caused him to lash out at the sentries and yourself?"

"It's something I questioned of myself for the rest of my life. Did I cause Skywalker to see the Tuskens that killed his mother and once more he lashed out at them? In part I must have been to blame, I knew that even then. But there had to be more to it, more I never understood. I had only offered him a reminder, had kept it on his mind. The environment we were facing had to have enhanced that reminder. But there had to be something else, something Skywalker never told me about. Something that actually caused him to relive that horrific day."

"Prior to his attack, had Skywalker demonstrated to you anything that would be contrary to this inner darkness?"

"Yes, both on Aargonar and New Holstice. On New Holstice he tried to use the Force to save Master Sora Mobari as she lay dieing. On Aargonar, I could feel him trying to do the same for my padwan Bhat Jul. In both cases it was no use, but he wanted them to live. That much I could sense. It is the opposite of the inner darkness someone who is truly evil possess."

"Why did he stop attacking you? Was it because there was good in him?"

"That was a part of it. Skywalker still was having problems with me immediately after our fight because he could only see me as a Tusken. To help him see me as a Jedi, I removed my outer face. Without my mask, he saw me in a new light. And he truly regretted what he had tried to do. But more importantly for me, he had helped me to become wholly a Jedi."

"One final question. Here today you refused to answer the prosecution's first question. Why was that?"

"Skywalker told me what he had done to the clan that killed his mother, told me of the slaughter. I promised him that I would not tell anyone else, that would be for him to do. I myself had once had to face my own inner darkness, and only thanks to my masters was I able to over come it. Had I not understood what he was facing, I would not have made such a promise."

"Thank you, Master Hett."

This time it was Gareth's turn to smile as he rose from his seat. "Redirect, your honor."

"Very well, counselor."

"Master Hett, was keeping the defendant's secret wise? Couldn't it have helped to foster his inner darkness?"

"Objection. The prosecution is asking the witness make a supposition as to the defendant's state of mind over the course of a set number of years."

"Your honor, Master Hett is a Jedi, and has himself admitted that he had to face his own inner darkness. Without help from his masters he might not have over come it. If anyone should understand what that must have been like for the defendant Master Hett should."

"Agreed. The witness will answer the question, objection overruled."

A'Sharad nodded, though he refused to look at Gareth. "No, it was not wise for me to keep his secret. Once Master Kenobi returned to our lines from his imprisonment I should have counseled Skywalker to talk to him concerning what he had done.

"What he had done could have meant his being disgraced as a Jedi. My fear was what would happen if he faced disgrace. I felt it could mean possible banishment from the Order at the worst. And even if he did not face banishment the shame of disgrace could still have resulted in his turning more to the dark side. I believed it better for Skywalker that I not reveal his secret, but rather allow him the chance to do so himself. The first step to dealing with that disgrace would be admitting to what he had done rather than have another reveal it."

"So you felt it better for the defendant that you not reveal his secret, felt you were doing more good than harm. Obviously, you were wrong. No more questions, your honor."

Ulic looked over at Tristain to see if she had any new questions to ask, but she merely shook her head. Ulic then proceeded to dismiss A'Sharad and motioned for Gareth to call his next witness.

"The prosecution calls the bounty hunter Durge."

* * *

The Gen'Dai bounty hunter was as ugly as he had been when Anakin last saw him. He wore his armor once more, but without the helmet, it did not matter what could not be seen, the face remained quite grotesque. Anakin found himself wondering if he'd tapped into the dark side that day in the Karthakk system or if he had been acting as a Jedi when he killed Durge.

The bounty hunter hated the Jedi as much as he hated Mandalorians. And that meant that because the clones had been based on a Mandalorian, they had inherited Durge as a nemesis. Ever since the first time he'd seen him on Ohma-D'un, he'd known he would be a serious threat. That day Durge had killed all the clones with them except one, the ARC Trooper he had named Alpha based on his designation of A-17.

Then the Battle of Muunilist had come, and with the Republic victory there came Obi-Wan's claim that Durge had died during the Republic's capture of San Hill. Unfortunately, few alive knew very much about the Gen'Dai species and their regenerative abilities. With no central nervous or circulatory systems, the apparent bloody mess that was believed by Obi-Wan and the clones to have been Durge was actually able to pull itself back together and rebuild itself. Though it had taken a several months to fully heal from that day.

And Durge's survival had been a serious shock to the Republic. But though Durge was soon overshadowed by another as the most serious threat among the Separatist military forces, his hatred of the Jedi and clones had left him still a very real threat, one that would be virtually impossible to kill if he could just keep regenerating. Anakin had known that he wouldn't stop until all the Jedi and clones were dead, no matter how often his body seemed destroyed. It had been the only way he could come up with stopping him once and for all, yet he had been sure it was fueled by the dark side. Now he wondered if it was the dark side and not merely a Jedi doing what he knew needed to be done to end a threat once and for all.

However, his only real question was whether or not any of the questions Gareth had been asking really mattered. And whether or not Tristain could counter him once again. Until A'Sharad, he'd come to believe her invincible when it came to dealing with the prosecutions witnesses. And from the look of defeat on her face after the redirect, she had as well. Now he wondered if that one defeat after what seemed like nothing but victories would shake her, cause her to start making mistake after mistake.

"The defendant used the Force to throw a large group of active explosives at you? That doesn't sound like something a Jedi would do."

"One who has turned to the dark side would do so." Once more Anakin marveled at how he could understand the Gen'Dai's native tongue as basic instead. It was something he decided to ask Obi-wan about if the trial was decided in his favor.

"Hmmm, yes, the dark side," Gareth said, turning to look at the jury as he did so. "How did you survive the attack?"

"I am Gen'Dai, it takes much more than that merely to seriously injure me."

"What would it take to have killed you? I'm sure the defendant did just that."

"Indeed. He used the dark side to place me in an escape pod and launch it into the system's sun."

"How do you know it was the dark side?"

"His master defeated me on Muunilist, but that was only because I had foolishly absorbed him into my body. Externally, I am much more difficult as Kenobi learned when he thought he had defeated me during our first encounter on Muunilist. Cutting me up would only slow me down, not defeat me. It would merely give my opponent time to get a good distance away from me. But once I had pulled myself back together their lead would mean nothing.

"I have little doubt Skywalker and Kenobi had discussed our battle on Muunilist. Skywalker would have known that I heal faster than he would believe from such wounds. And as his attempts to stop me with the explosives did not work, he would have been driven by his rage to find another method. The only thing that could have stopped me was use of the dark side to place me in that sun."

"Thank you, no further questions."

Tristain rose, squeezing Anakin's shoulder reassuringly before moving towards the witness stand. As with Gareth she refused to get too close to Durge. Unlike Darth Maul's clone, Durge was far more dangerous. Even the lands of the dark side would take a long time to destroy him, and he knew it.

"You said the defendant used the dark side to send you into the Karthakk system's sun."

"What, can't the silly little counselor understand me?"

"The defendant will watch what he says or he will be held in contempt!" Ulic shouted, growing tired of Durge's attitude. He'd put up with it during Gareth's questioning because he knew that being held in contempt of the court would mean so little to the bounty hunter. But he also had plenty of time to contemplate a fitting punishment as well, and Durge seemed to realize that as he seethed in his seat.

"As I was saying, you said the defendant used the dark side to send you into the Karthakk system's sun. Claiming that was the only way you could be defeated. But that wasn't the case, was it?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh come now, you know exactly what I mean. The Mandalorians managed to capture you and put you through unspeakable tortures for a long time. They had to defeat you just to be able to contain you long enough for the torturing to begin. Yes, you managed to escape, but they had defeated you, without using the dark side.

"And they weren't the only ones who could do so. Nine hundred years before the Mandalorians tortured you, you went into hiding to prevent the Jedi from doing the same thing after you had sided with the Sith during the last great Sith war.

So tell me, just how do you know it was the dark side the defendant used? Isn't it true you are merely using that as an excuse because a Jedi had defeated you for at least the second time in three years?"

Durge said nothing, merely growling at Tristain and gripping the railing of the witness stand as if he planned to rip it apart so he could attack the woman who dared say such a thing. Yet even without saying a word, his actions spoke volumes.

"Tell me, how did you feel about Jedi and the clone troopers?"

"The only thing they were good for was as my victims."

"As your victims. Are we to take it then that had you defeated the defendant that you would have not stopped hunting them?"

"They were my victims, trophies for me to claim. Once Skywalker was dead, his master would have been next. And then his fellow Jedi and all their pet clones."

"Yes," Tristain said with a smile as she turned to face the jury. "You would have continued to be a threat to those the defendant had served beside and lead. One final question." Now she turned back to Durge. "Did the defendant know this?"

Durge laughed, a deep guttural sound that nearly made Tristain cower under the defendant's table. "He knew, unless he was utterly stupid. I made it clear to him both the first time we met and the last that I enjoyed killing Jedi and clones."

"Indeed. Knowing that you would never stop no matter what he did, the defendant had to find a means to stop you. A means that you could not come back from. The Jedi prefer not to kill whenever possible, but they also know that sometimes there is no choice. And to prevent you from coming back to kill more Jedi and clones, along with innocent lives, the defendant had to kill you because it was the only way to truly defeat you once and for all.

"No more questions your honor."


End file.
